​Chelsea defender David Luiz admits his side didn't deserve to win in their 2-0 loss at Manchester United on Sunday.

Luiz was beaten for pace by Marcus Rashford for United's opening goal before Ander Herrera's deflected effort sealed the win, meaning Chelsea's lead at the top of the Premier League remains at four points after Tottenham's victory over Bournemouth on Saturday.

Marcos Alonso was withdrawn from the starting line-up after getting injured in the warm-up but Luiz doesn't believe the late change is to blame for the defeat.

"This kind of thing can happen," Luiz continued.

"He felt a bit sick so that is why we had to change but it didn’t affect the game because Marcos did not play, we lost because we did not play very well and it was not the Chelsea like before and sometimes this happens."

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Manchester United v Chelsea - Premier League

The build-up to United's opening goal has courted controversy, given that Herrera appeared to handle the ball before playing the pass which set Rashford in on goal, but Luiz says his side can't blame referee Bobby Madley for not seeing the potential foul play.

"I saw it but we can say the referee did not see it, and they played a counter-attack with the free ball and behind the line you cannot make a foul or you will get a red card.

"It is normal that sometimes the referee can see and sometimes he cannot see so we cannot judge him because also we had some mistakes in the game. It is not about the referee why we did not win, it is about our game not being top level."

The loss is Chelsea's second in four games, having also been defeated by Crystal Palace recently, but Luiz believes the Blues have what it takes to beat Tottenham to the Premier League title.

"Tottenham are playing very well," Luiz added.

"But also we are top of the table for a reason and we still have to play a lot of football, so we need to look forward and play the next games."